FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- I realize 63 television ads have been sold at $2.7 million a pop. I realize the post-nasal-drip crooner himself, Tom Petty, has been lined up at halftime. I realize a stadium in the Arizona desert, built to resemble "a barrel cactus with a coiled rattlesnake around it," is ready to roll out its retractable roof and movable grass field. I realize you have parties to attend on the first Sunday of February.

Yet if you're expecting a Super Bowl that evening, please be aware that the New England Patriots already have won their fourth Vince Lombardi trophy in seven years. They clinched it Sunday, while sitting around their TV sets, watching the only team that possibly could have beaten them, the Indianapolis Colts, lose at home to the San Diego Chargers. I hate to sound like the buffoonish Jerry Jones, who was so certain his Dallas Cowboys would win that he gave each player two tickets to next weekend's NFC title game -- tickets that won't be honored in Green Bay when the Packers host, um, the New York Giants. But the Patriots aren't the Cowboys.

They're worthy of my guarantee. And anyone pondering a Chargers upset should consider this issue: How will they compete against the most explosive, efficient offense in NFL history when their three most vital offensive players -- LaDainian Tomlinson, Phillip Rivers and Antonio Gates -- are limping on fragile knees and toes? Rivers, who is quite the trash-talker and rabble-rouser for someone who hasn't done much in the NFL, talks boldly about the assignment. "Seventeen have tried and it hasn't happened," he said of the perfect Patriots. "We think it can happen."

Oh, really? Monkeys can fly, too, with the right aerodynamics. Back in September, when armed with a full quota of weapons, San Diego was ripped 38-14 by the Patriots. Might this be the first 70-point postseason performance since Bears 73, Redskins 0 in 1940? How about doubling the 38? "A lot has happened since then," said Patriots coach Bill Belichick, aka The Gray Hoodie, who could make a Pop Warner foe sound formidable. "We'll definitely start all over on the preparations. It's like it's a new team."

All right, 60-0.

It would have been fun watching the Patriots earn their perfection. Turns out the AFC also-rans were too busy beating each other up. Reserve quarterback Billy Volek and would-be future Bear Michael (The Burner) Turner were able to finish the Colts, who may have been distracted by talk of coach Tony Dungy's possible departure, but the Chargers have no better chance in Gillette Stadium than Rosie O'Donnell has of winning a beauty contest in a thong. You can believe in the Brett Favre action-hero flick if you'd like, but Green Bay isn't beating the Patriots, either, even if the Packers import the Lambeau snow. And if the Giants gave the Patriots a scare in the final regular-season game, explain how the wrong Manning -- Eli survives, Peyton goes home? -- possibly can beat Brady in a Super Bowl. I'd have preferred watching the drama of Tony Romo and the Cowboys. Hell, I'd have preferred a fight between Gisele Bundchen and Jessica Simpson, who just might dump Romeo Romo after he came unglued in the second half and opened himself to more criticism about his Cabo-with-Jessica bye week.

"I'll take the blame. I'll take the criticism," Romo said after the 21-17 loss to the Giants. "I don't live with regrets. At the end of the day, I'm content in my own skin."

Should he have gone to Mexico? "I thought I was making a good decision," said Romo, the small-town kid from Burlington, Wis., not far from Lake Geneva or, for that matter, Halas Hall. "It wasn't going to Vegas and drinking for two or three days. I was just getting away."

How traumatic was this loss? Was that sobbing we heard from Terrell Owens, who didn't catch a ball in the second half and lashed at the media for picking on Romo? "If you do that, it's really unfair," said T.O., breaking down and wiping tears. "That's my teammate. That's my quarterabck. And if you guys do that, that's not fair to him. We lost as a team."

The Patriots have no such concerns. They've had their share of distractions, from Spygate to Brady's love life and fatherhood, but Belichick exterminates all obstacles. Know how comfortably numb life has become on Planet Perfection? Brady, who was two dropped passes from being the perfect quarterback Saturday night, was asked about Zen by a Japanese TV producer after the 31-20 victory over Jacksonville. "You never seem flustered no matter the situation," the guy said, "and from our Japanese point of view, it looks very Zen of you."

"I'm all Zen. I'm all Zen," said Brady, straining not to burst out laughing. "I hope I'm Zen for another week. That would be a great feeling."

Whether it's Zen or, more likely, the wrath of The Gray Hoodie, the Patriots don't act and talk like a perfect bunch. They're keenly aware that their extraordinary winning streak and array of league records would morph into an all-time crash job if they lose. There's also the ubiquitous presence of Don Shula, coach of the 1972 Miami Dolphins, who soon will have company in the perfection ranks but won't stop applying pressure until the Patriots officially join them. "Their entire season rests on what happens the next few weeks," Shula told reporters. "16-1, 17-1, 18-1 is no good if that loss is the one that keeps you out of the Super Bowl."

Beyond a mass kidnapping, nothing will stop the Patriots from their destiny. They've overcome close calls with great escapes, and now, just two wins short of the greatest season in American team sports since the Bulls' 72-10 title year, no opponent in this solar system will beat them. What should bother the Chargers is that Jacksonville pieced together an impressive game plan, moved the ball throughout the first half, gave the Patriots difficulty for three quarters, took Randy Moss out of the game -- and still were systematically worn down.

"I feel like the energy, the effort, the plan that we put together was good," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said. "We went toe to toe for a while with these guys. But we were just not quite good enough to match them."

"I thought we played them very tough," linebacker Daryl Smith said, "and they still hung 31 on us. I don't know what more you can do."

Crown them. We know exactly who the Patriots are: the perfect football team.

I really think that people forgot we were the best team in football last year going into the playoffs. This is going to be a special week. Knocking these arrogant SOB's into history for all the wrong reasons is going to be so sweet with the way they exited our field last year...

Marrioti is a *** anyway, I really dont know why you guys listen to this sh!t......I didnt have to read anymore after I heard him say that the only team who could have possibly beaten the Patriots lost at home to us..........Well apparently we can possibly beat them then if we beat the colts?

This is the thing you see, on the road in a hostile environment, a 400 yard game from Manning, all their players healthy, the refs in their hip pocket the whole game (which actually should have been a blowout), No Ladainian Tomlinson for 3/4 game, No Phillip Rivers for the 4th Quarter, Antonio Gates at about 40%, and yet we still won on the road! Until we lose we always have a shot, this team plays angry as they will on Sunday cause all they will hear all week is how they are inferior to the Patriots just like they heard against the colts!

This dude is going over the top.the game is gonna be pretty close but,the pats will win,there is no doubting that,if it wasn't for marvin fumbling and keith tipping the ball to weddle then the colts would have won and headed to foxboro.

This dude is going over the top.the game is gonna be pretty close but,the pats will win,there is no doubting that,if it wasn't for marvin fumbling and keith tipping the ball to weddle then the colts would have won and headed to foxboro.

This should be a great game, and I think the Chargers can take advantage of the Patriots defense. The game will be won or lost by the Chargers defense, in particular, the secondary. If they can hold the Patriot offense under 30 points, I like the chances of a Charger victory.

Just been realistic bro..if you had the team we had,then you too would be confident.it's gonna be close but, we will win,homfield at foxboro is huge.

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You know there are lots of parallels between the Pats and the Chargers. Last season in the playoffs when we met, we were the better team. There is no disputing that. We had the better record and had you beat, but we made some mistakes that let you back in the game. We underestimated you.

Right now you may be the better team, but you really underestimate this Charger team. You better hope Belicheat and Brady don't underestimate the Chargers also, or the Pats will lose.

His word doesn't mean anything...he probably did the same guarantee that the Colts and the Pats would be in the AFC Championship game. It's nice to be counted out and knock it back in their mouth. Win or lose, this Chargers team did good.

You know there are lots of parallels between the Pats and the Chargers. Last season in the playoffs when we met, we were the better team. There is no disputing that. We had the better record and had you beat, but we made some mistakes that let you back in the game. We underestimated you.

Right now you may be the better team, but you really underestimate this Charger team. You better hope Belicheat and Brady don't underestimate the Chargers also, or the Pats will lose.

Also, I noticed the asterisk in your user name. How appropriate.

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Brady and BB wont be underestimating anyone that's not the patriot way of things.

the pats will be fully prepared for the chargers.we beat you in week 2 and we will beat you again this sunday,the chargers are a better team since week 2 but,so are the patriots

you can dream of beating us but we all know the chargers will lose.

remember last year,we beat you with reche and jabba as are two main WR:lol:

If you have tracked the Pats at all, you'd know that they never read their press clippings, the thing that has carried them is the ability to outwork everyone else, knowing that anything can happen, and they need to do all they can to ensure victory.

Crown them now: Patriots can't lose
January 14, 2008
BY JAY MARIOTTI Sun-Times Columnist
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- I realize 63 television ads have been sold at $2.7 million a pop. I realize the post-nasal-drip crooner himself, Tom Petty, has been lined up at halftime. I realize a stadium in the Arizona desert, built to resemble ``a barrel cactus with a coiled rattlesnake around it,'' is ready to roll out its retractable roof and movable grass field. I realize you have parties to attend on the first Sunday of February.
Yet if you're expecting a Super Bowl that evening, please be aware that the New England Patriots already have won their fourth Vince Lombardi trophy in seven years. They clinched it Sunday, while sitting around their TV sets, watching the only team that possibly could have beaten them, the Indianapolis Colts, lose at home to the San Diego Chargers. I hate to sound like the buffoonish Jerry Jones, who was so certain his Dallas Cowboys would win that he gave each player two tickets to next weekend's NFC title game -- tickets that won't be honored in Green Bay when the Packers host, um, the New York Giants. But the Patriots aren't the Cowboys.

They're worthy of my guarantee. And anyone pondering a Chargers upset should consider this issue: How will they compete against the most explosive, efficient offense in NFL history when their three most vital offensive players -- LaDainian Tomlinson, Phillip Rivers and Antonio Gates -- are limping on fragile knees and toes? Rivers, who is quite the trash-talker and rabble-rouser for someone who hasn't done much in the NFL, talks boldly about the assignment. ``Seventeen have tried and it hasn't happened," he said of the perfect Patriots. ``We think it can happen."
Oh, really? Monkeys can fly, too, with the right aerodynamics. Back in September, when armed with a full quota of weapons, San Diego was ripped 38-14 by the Patriots. Might this be the first 70-point postseason performance since Bears 73, Redskins 0 in 1940? How about doubling the 38? ``A lot has happened since then,'' said Patriots coach Bill Belichick, aka The Gray Hoodie, who could make a Pop Warner foe sound formidable. ``We'll definitely start all over on the preparations. It's like it's a new team.''
All right, 60-0.

If you have tracked the Pats at all, you'd know that they never read their press clippings, the thing that has carried them is the ability to outwork everyone else, knowing that anything can happen, and they need to do all they can to ensure victory.

It'll be a good game.

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Conc has a history here of misspelling. I think he grew up in another country, or possible another planet, so English is not his first language, so we cut him a break around here.

I don't think he's talking smack either, because that would mean you were talking smack back to him. And, since smack talk is restricted on this forum to the Smack Talk section, I'm sure that's not the case.

Welcome to the forum neck roll. Here's a link to the SMACK TALK SECTION should you need it.

This dude is going over the top.the game is gonna be pretty close but,the pats will win,there is no doubting that,if it wasn't for marvin fumbling and keith tipping the ball to weddle then the colts would have won and headed to foxboro.

Patriots are simply too good for the rivers lead chargers.

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Sounds like the Steelers in 1994. Go ahead and make your Super Bowl Video man!

Brady and BB wont be underestimating anyone that's not the patriot way of things.

the pats will be fully prepared for the chargers.we beat you in week 2 and we will beat you again this sunday,the chargers are a better team since week 2 but,so are the patriots

you can dream of beating us but we all know the chargers will lose.

remember last year,we beat you with reche and jabba as are two main WR:lol:

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Ok, be nice P4E*. I think it's cute that you feel we have no chance, but your tone is starting to sound like smack. You need to keep that in the Smack Talk section if you want to stay around here very long.